Museums and Galleries Act 1992

An Act to establish Boards of Trustees of the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Wallace Collection; to transfer property to them and confer functions on them; to make new provision as to transfers to and between the collections of certain museums, galleries and libraries; to make provision for and in connection with the vesting of land in the governing bodies of such institutions; to make provision for the financing of such institutions and of the Museums and Galleries Commission; to make further provision with respect to the giving of indemnities against the loss of, or damage to, objects on loan to certain institutions; to change the name of, and to make further provision with respect to, the British Museum (Natural History); and to amend certain enactments relating to museums, galleries and libraries; and for purposes connected herewith.

The Museums and Galleries Act 1992 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1992 c. 44) the long title of which is "An Act to establish Boards of Trustees of the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Wallace Collection; to transfer property to them and confer functions on them; to make new provision as to transfers to and between the collections of certain museums, galleries and libraries; to make provision for and in connection with the vesting of land in the governing bodies of such institutions; to make provision for the financing of such institutions and of the Museums and Galleries Commission; to make further provision with respect to the giving of indemnities against the loss of, or damage to, objects on loan to certain institutions; to change the name of, and to make further provision with respect to, the British Museum (Natural History); and to amend certain enactments relating to museums, galleries and libraries; and for purposes connected herewith."

This Act legislates the operation and financing of the museums mentioned in its title, for example, it establishes that the National Portrait Gallery is to "maintain a collection of portraits in all media of the most eminent persons in British history from the earliest times to the present day". [1]

Act of Parliament
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Acts of Parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament. Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is known by its Irish name. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States, a draft Act of Parliament is known as a bill. In territories with a

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A graphic representation of the legislative procedure in the United Kingdom.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house

National Gallery, London
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The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the Unite

Tate Gallery
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Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdoms national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is a network of four art museums, Tate Britain, London, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, Cornwall and Tate Modern, London, Tate is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK Department for Cultu

National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
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The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856, the gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martins Place, off Trafalgar Square, and adjoining the National Gallery. It has be

Wallace Collection
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The collection opened to permanent public view in 1900 in Hertford House, and remains there to this day. A condition of the bequest was that no object should ever leave the collection, the Wallace Collection is a non-departmental public body. The Collection numbers nearly 5,500 objects and is best known for its quality and breadth of eighteenth-cen

4.
Large Drawing Room - Contains some of the most spectacular works by the French furniture-maker, Andre-Charles Boulle

British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally

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British Museum

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The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the Great Court, surrounding the original Reading Room.

United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border wi

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The Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.

LIST OF IMAGES

1.
Act of Parliament
–
Acts of Parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament. Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is known by its Irish name. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States, a draft Act of Parliament is known as a bill. In territories with a Westminster system, most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a paper, setting out the issues. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing, in territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by convention or by law. For example, bills imposing a tax, or involving public expenditure, are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canadas House of Commons, conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords. Once introduced, a bill must go through a number of stages before it can become law, in theory, this allows the bills provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber, broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to the same version of the bill. Finally, the bill receives assent, in most territories this is merely a formality. In some countries, such as in Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government, again, the second reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this reading signifies a major loss, if the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail Consideration in detail, This usually takes place on the floor of the House. Generally, committees sit on the floor of the House and consider the bill in detail, third reading, A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage, passage, The bill is then sent to the other House, which may amend it. If the other House amends the bill, the bill and amendments are posted back to the original House for a further stage, the State of Queenslands Parliament is unicameral and skips this and the rest of the stages. Consideration of Senate/Representatives amendments, The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House and it may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu, or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend money bills, though it can request the House to make amendments, a bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other

Act of Parliament
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A graphic representation of the legislative procedure in the United Kingdom.

2.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Parliament at night, with the London Eye visible at right
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Leading 17th century Parliamentarian John Hampden is one of the Five Members annually commemorated

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National Gallery, London
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The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found

National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
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Location within Central London
National Gallery, London
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The Raising of Lazarus by Sebastiano del Piombo, from the collection of John Julius Angerstein. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the accession number NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the Gallery.
National Gallery, London
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100 Pall Mall, the home of the National Gallery from 1824 to 1834.

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Tate Gallery
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Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdoms national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is a network of four art museums, Tate Britain, London, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, Cornwall and Tate Modern, London, Tate is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The name Tate is used also as the name for the corporate body. The gallery was founded in 1897, as the National Gallery of British Art, the Tate Gallery was housed in the current building occupied by Tate Britain, which is situated in Millbank, London. Tate Liverpool has the purpose as Tate Modern but on a smaller scale. All four museums share the Tate Collection, one of the Tates most publicised art events is the awarding of the annual Turner Prize, which takes place at Tate Britain. The original Tate was called the National Gallery of British Art, situated on Millbank, Pimlico, the idea of a National Gallery of British Art was first proposed in the 1820s by Sir John Leicester, Baron de Tabley. It took a step nearer when Robert Vernon gave his collection to the National Gallery in 1847, a decade later John Sheepshanks gave his collection to the South Kensington Museum, known for years as the National Gallery of Art. Henry Tate also donated his own collection to the gallery and it was initially a collection solely of modern British art, concentrating on the works of modern—that is Victorian era—painters. It was controlled by the National Gallery until 1954, in 1926 and 1937, the art dealer and patron Joseph Duveen paid for two major expansions of the gallery building. His father had paid for an extension to house the major part of the Turner Bequest. Henry Courtauld also endowed Tate with a purchase fund, by the mid 20th century, it was fulfilling a dual function of showing the history of British art as well as international modern art. In 1954, the Tate Gallery was finally separated from the National Gallery, later, the Tate began organising its own temporary exhibition programme. In 1979 with funding from a Japanese bank a large extension was opened that would also house larger income generating exhibitions. In 1987, the Clore Wing opened to house the major part of the Turner bequest, in 1988, an outpost in north west England opened as Tate Liverpool. This shows various works of art from the Tate collection as well as mounting its own temporary exhibitions. In 2007, Tate Liverpool hosted the Turner Prize, the first time this has been held outside London and this was an overture to Liverpools being the European Capital of Culture 2008. In 1993, another offshoot opened, Tate St Ives and it exhibits work by modern British artists, particularly those of the St Ives School

Tate Gallery
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The original Tate Gallery, now renamed Tate Britain
Tate Gallery
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The logo of Tate, used in several similar versions and colours, was designed by Wolff Olins in 2000.
Tate Gallery
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Tate Liverpool opened in 1988.
Tate Gallery
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Tate St Ives opened in 1993.

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National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
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The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856, the gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martins Place, off Trafalgar Square, and adjoining the National Gallery. It has been expanded twice since then, the National Portrait Gallery also has regional outposts at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire and Montacute House in Somerset. It is unconnected to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, the gallery is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The gallery houses portraits of important and famous British people, selected on the basis of the significance of the sitter. The collection includes photographs and caricatures as well as paintings, drawings, one of its best-known images is the Chandos portrait, the most famous portrait of William Shakespeare although there is some uncertainty about whether the painting actually is of the playwright. Not all of the portraits are exceptional artistically, although there are self-portraits by William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, some, such as the group portrait of the participants in the Somerset House Conference of 1604, are important historical documents in their own right. Portraits of living figures were allowed from 1969, the three people largely responsible for the founding of the National Portrait Gallery are commemorated with busts over the main entrance. At centre is Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, with his supporters on either side, Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay and it was Stanhope who, in 1846 as a Member of Parliament, first proposed the idea of a National Portrait Gallery. It was not until his attempt, in 1856, this time from the House of Lords. With Queen Victorias approval, the House of Commons set aside a sum of £2000 to establish the gallery, as well as Stanhope and Macaulay, the founder Trustees included Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Ellesmere. It was the latter who donated the Chandos portrait to the nation as the gallerys first portrait, Carlyle became a trustee after the death of Ellesmere in 1857. For the first 40 years, the gallery was housed in locations in London. The first 13 years were spent at 29 Great George Street, there, the collection increased in size from 57 to 208 items, and the number of visitors from 5,300 to 34,500. In 1869, the moved to Exhibition Road and buildings managed by the Royal Horticultural Society. Following a fire in buildings, the collection was moved in 1885. This location was unsuitable due to its distance from the West End, condensation. Following calls for a new location to be found, the government accepted an offer of funds from the philanthropist William Henry Alexander, Alexander donated £60,000 followed by another £20,000, and also chose the architect, Ewan Christian

National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
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Entrance to the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
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The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare, the first painting to enter the NPG's collection
National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom)
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Inside the National Portrait Gallery

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Wallace Collection
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The collection opened to permanent public view in 1900 in Hertford House, and remains there to this day. A condition of the bequest was that no object should ever leave the collection, the Wallace Collection is a non-departmental public body. The Collection numbers nearly 5,500 objects and is best known for its quality and breadth of eighteenth-century French paintings, Sèvres porcelain and French furniture. His father Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, brother of Queen Jane Seymour, had started building the palatial Somerset House on the Strand as his townhouse, the present House in Manchester Square was the townhouse of a later branch of the family. The Wallace Restaurant is now run by Peyton and Byrne as a French-style brasserie, the Wallace Collections Old Master paintings represent some of the finest works of art in the world, executed by most of the leading artists of their period. The paintings include important works from all periods between the fourteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, strengths of the collection include examples by Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Canaletto, Gainsborough, François Boucher, Fragonard, Murillo, Titian, Poussin and Velázquez. The inventory of pictures, watercolours and drawings comprises all the major European schools. M. W, the Wallace Collection contains the richest and most distinguished museum collections of eighteenth-century Sèvres porcelain in the world. It includes 137 vases,80 tea wares,67 useful wares,3 biscuit figures and 130 plaques, one highlight of the collection is the major collection of furniture attributed to André-Charles Boulle, perhaps the best-known cabinet-maker ever to have lived. Joseph Baumhauer –1 item, Bas darmoire, c, 1765–1770, André-Charles Boulle –22 items, Armoire, c. 1700–10, Cabinet avec son pied, c,1667, Cartonnier et pendule, c.1715, Commode, c. 1710, Paire de grande table, c,1713, Paire de coffre de toilette, c. 1720–25, Table à mettre dans un trumeau, c,1705, Martin Carlin –4 items, Paire de Encoignures, c. 1783, Adrien Delorme –2 items, Paire de bibliothèque basse Étienne Doirat –1 item, Commode,1720, Étienne Levasseur –5 items, Grande Bibliothèque, c. 1775, Paire de bibliothèque basse, c.1775 Paire de meubles à hauteur deappui, c.1775 Alexandre-Jean Oppenord –3 items, Bureau plat,1710, Commode, c. 1710, Jean Henri Riesener –10 items, Commode, delivered to Marie-Antoinettes cabinet intérieur de la reine at Versailles,1780, Commode, delivered to Marie-Antoinette for Chateau de Marly, c. 1782, Encoignure, delivered to Marie-Antoinettes cabinet intérieur at Versailles,1783, Secrétaire à abattant, delivered to Marie-Antoinettes cabinet intérieur at Versailles, c. 1783, Secrétaire à abattant, delivered to Marie-Antoinettes Petit Triannon at Versailles,1783, Secrétaire à abattant, delivered to Marie-Antoinettes cabinet intérieur at Versailles, c. 1780, Bureau à cylindre, delivered to the comte dOrsay for the Hôtel dOrsay, 1785–90 Media related to Wallace Collection at Wikimedia Commons Official website

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British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose

British Museum
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British Museum
British Museum
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The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the Great Court, surrounding the original Reading Room.
British Museum
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Sir Hans Sloane
British Museum
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Montagu House, c. 1715

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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government